Best movies like The Song of Sparrows
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
When an ostrich-rancher focuses on replacing his daughter's hearing aid, which breaks right before crucial exams, everything changes for a struggling rural family in Iran. Karim motorbikes into a world alien to him - incredibly hectic Tehran, where sudden opportunities for independence, thrill and challenge him. But his honor and honesty, plus traditional authority over his inventive clan, are tested, as he stumbles among vast cultural and economic gaps between his village nestled in the desert, and a throbbing international metropolis.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Iran
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, psychological, sincere, touching, captivating, realistic, inspirational, sad, independent film
Best tv shows and movies like The Song of Sparrows (2008):
Similar in 90%
A Cube of Sugar (2011)
Plot Summary:
Throughout the two days preceding her long-awaited wedding, amid the flurry of arriving relatives and the preparation of a seemingly endless array of colorful, culinary delights, young bride-to-be Pasandide finds herself the center of attention. The event also proves an occasion for extended family to reconnect, reminisce and rejoice in the pleasures of familiar company. The family compound of aged Uncle Ezzatolah proves an ideal site for this summer reunion among three generations, with its lush courtyard gardens, labyrinthine parlors and passageways and erratic electrical system (subject to untimely city blackouts).
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: Iran
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: sweet, sincere, touching, humorous, captivating, islamic, happy, feel good
Similar in 87%
Leila (1997)
Plot Summary:
This film tells the story of a semi modern Iranian couple, who are trying to fight the old beliefs & old generation. This is a failing battle because the man is not strong enough.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Iran
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, islamic, tense, serious, emotional, realistic, biting, crying, suspense
Similar in 85%
Melbourne (2014)
Plot Summary:
Amir and Sara are a young couple on their way to Melbourne to continue their studies. However, just a few hours before the departure of their flight, they are unintentionally involved in a tragic event.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, psychological, emotional, sincere
Similar in 80%
Tales (2014)
Plot Summary:
Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Rakshan Banietemad ends her eight-year hiatus from feature filmmaking with this ingenious, mosaic-like narrative, which knits together the stories of seven characters to create a microcosm of Iranian working-class society.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: realistic, emotional, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, bleak, serious, gloomy, surprise ending
Similar in 90%
The Cyclist (1989)
Plot Summary:
The wife of Nasim, an Afghan immigrant in Iran, is gravely ill. He needs money to pay for her care, but his day labor digging wells does not pay enough. A friend connects Nasim to a two-bit promoter who sells tickets to watch Nasim ride a bicycle continuously for a week. The promoter brings in sick and aged spectators, haranguing them to find hope in Nasim's strength. Aided by his son, who feeds him as he rides, Nasim grinds out the days and shivering nights. Local officials believe this may be a plot and Nasim may be a spy; they try to sabotage him as do those who bet he won't finish the week. Will desperation alone get Nasim the money? Is any triumph an illusion?.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: islamic, psychological, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Iron Island (2005)
Plot Summary:
Squatters live on a mothballed oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. The children attend a school on board; men harvest scrap metal and old oil in the hull; women keep house and raise children and Captain Nemat runs it all with an iron hand. We follow a lad who rescues fish trapped in the hull, an old man who stares at the sun, the idealistic teacher, and Ahmad, the Captain's assistant who has fallen in love with a young woman whose father wants to marry her to someone of means. What future has this sinking city?.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 980
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, atmospheric, offbeat, gloomy
Similar in 90%
The Cow (1969)
Plot Summary:
An old villager deeply in love with his cow goes to the capital for a while. While he's there, the cow dies and now the villagers are afraid of his possible reaction to it when he returns.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: depressing, art house, islamic, psychological, atmospheric, touching, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 80%
Mainline (2006)
Plot Summary:
The uneasy relationship between a mother and daughter is made all the more turbulent by drug abuse in this downbeat drama from Iranian filmmakers Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Mohsen Abdolvahab.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 889
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Where Hope Grows (2014)
Plot Summary:
Calvin Campbell is a former professional baseball player sent to an early retirement due to his panic attacks at the plate. Even though he had all the talent for the big leagues, he struggles with the curveballs life has thrown him. Today, he mindlessly sleepwalks through his days and the challenge of raising his teenager daughter. His life is in a slow downward spiral when it is suddenly awakened and invigorated by the most unlikely person – Produce, a young-man with Down syndrome who works at the local grocery store.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, sincere, uplifting, inspirational, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, religious drama
Similar in 78%
Baran (2001)
Plot Summary:
In a building site in present-day Tehran, Lateef, a 17-year-old Kurdish worker is irresistibly drawn to Rahmat, a young Afghan worker. When Lateef is given heavier tasks to compensate for new Afghan worker Rahmat, he resents his displacement and treats Rahmat cruelly. After one of his pranks, however, Lateef discovers Rahmat's secret--he is a girl named Baran. Latif's heart softens towards Baran and he shows his new affection for her by doing what he can to ease the hardships she suffers at work. revelation of Rahmat's secret changes both their lives.Baran is a 2001 Iranian film directed by Majid Majidi, based on an original script by Majid Majidi. The movie is set during recent times in which there are a large number of Afghan refugees living on the outskirts of Tehran. Almost a silent movie, Baran won a number of awards both nationally and internationally for the director and writer Majid Majidi.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Iran
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, stylized, lyrical, serious, realistic, inspirational, compassionate, crying, islamic
Similar in 85%
My Father and My Son (2005)
Plot Summary:
A Turkish man, whose wife died while giving birth to his son during a military coup, finally returns home. Estranged from his father for turning his back on the family farm, he takes his 8 year-old and tries to repair relations.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Turkey
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, serious, emotional, thought provoking, captivating, sincere, dorama, educational, political thriller
Similar in 85%
Boutique (2004)
Plot Summary:
A clothing store worker (Jahan) meets a poor girl named Eti. Jahan tries to help the girl and solve her problems, but….
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, serious, realistic, neo noir, islamic, emotional, gloomy
Similar in 90%
The Deserted Station (2002)
Plot Summary:
On a pilgrimage to Mashad from Tehran, a couple's transportation breaks down, far from any major town. The husband, a photographer, seeks help at a nearby village and encounters a teacher who offers to help. Whilst the husband and teacher go off to find a spare part, the wife, who used to be a teacher, takes over the teaching lessons in the village. It is clear that the children live there, in this strange deserted place, without any men, save the teacher and an old signal guard. As the day draws on, the children help to bring a new hope and life into the wife's heart.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 649
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, touching, serious, islamic, sincere, thought provoking, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 86%
Ten (2002)
Plot Summary:
A visual social examination in the form of ten conversations between a driving woman and her various pick-ups and hitchhikers.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran, France, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: talky, melancholic, light, intense, sincere, thought provoking, touching, realistic, art house, contemplative
Similar in 84%
Mommo (2009)
Plot Summary:
A brother and sister are split up after their mother dies, their father remarries, and their new stepmother rejects them.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Turkey
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, gloomy
Similar in 83%
Louder Than Words (2013)
Plot Summary:
After the unexpected death of their daughter, a couple work to build a state of the art children's hospital where families are welcomed into the healing process.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, sentimental, serious, captivating, realistic, uplifting
Similar in 88%
Charlie & Me (2008)
Plot Summary:
When her beloved grandfather Charlie suddenly falls ill, twelve year-old Casey finds herself making some life or death decisions - and learning to live with the consequences.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 248
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: uplifting, feel good, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 78%
A Time for Drunken Horses (2000)
Plot Summary:
After their father dies, a family of five are forced to survive on their own in a Kurdish village on the border of Iran and Iraq. Matters are made worse when 12 year old Ayoub, the new head of the family, is told that his handicapped brother, Madi, needs an immediate operation in order to remain alive. This heartbreaking tale shows the lengths to which a family will go in order to survive in the harshest of conditions, where even the horses are fed liquor in order to work.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: realistic, bleak, meditative, emotional, harsh, sincere, rough, serious, inspirational, political
Similar in 83%
The White Balloon (1995)
Plot Summary:
Several people try to take advantage of a little girl's innocence to hustle money her mom gave to her to buy a goldfish with.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Iran
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, spiritual, educational, sad, poetic, touching, humorous, semi serious, crying, independent film
Similar in 89%
The Father (1996)
Plot Summary:
Mehrollah is a 14-year-old boy who is forced to find a job to support his family after his father dies. He travels to the southern parts of Iran, looking for work. Upon his return to his hometown, he notices certain changes in his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: inspirational, islamic, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 76%
The Willow Tree (2005)
Plot Summary:
Youssef, a blind university professor, is suddenly diagnosed with a fatal disease and must undergo treatment in France. Back home, will he find the life he had before?.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, touching, captivating, inspirational, emotional, islamic, thought provoking, serious, beautiful
Similar in 88%
Booky & the Secret Santa (2007)
Plot Summary:
Booky does everything she can to make an enjoyable Christmas, for her family, during the depression as her father is out of work.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 311
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, sincere, captivating, feel good, serious
Similar in 87%
The Christmas Bunny (2010)
Plot Summary:
The Christmas Bunny tells the story of a lonely foster child (Sophie Bolen) who finds a lost, injured rabbit in the woods on Christmas Eve. The rabbit is nursed back to health by The Bunny Lady (Florence Henderson), who runs a rabbit rescue in an old barn behind her Michigan farmhouse.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 854
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, sincere, captivating, light, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Cafe Setareh (2006)
Plot Summary:
Filmmaker Saman Moghadam details the struggles of three women living in an antiquated district of Tehran in this emotionally resonant drama. Fabria's husband has been morally corrupted, and now it's up to her to take charge of the small café that proves the only source of income to the couple. Saloomeh is a beautiful young woman who dreams of marrying Ebi, but how will the couple survive on the salary of a simple mechanic? Lastly, middle aged Moluk has fallen for a much younger man, and her heart breaks when she discovers that her love is unrequited.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 899
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Iran
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Under the Skin of the City (2001)
Plot Summary:
Tuba works daily at a grueling textile factory in Iran, returning home every night to deal with the rest of her problematic family, which includes: a pregnant daughter whose husband beats her regularly; a teenage son, who's been getting into trouble due to his burgeoning career in radical politics; and an older son who goes to great lengths--such as attempting to sell the family's meager house--in order to get an engineering job in Japan as a means of getting out of Iran.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, emotional, suspenseful, exciting, suspense, islamic, masterpiece
Similar in 79%
Taste of Cherry (1997)
Plot Summary:
A middle-aged Tehranian man, Mr. Badii is intent on killing himself and seeks someone to bury him after his demise. Driving around the city, the seemingly well-to-do Badii meets with numerous people, including a Muslim student, asking them to take on the job, but initially he has little luck. Eventually, Badii finds a man who is up for the task because he needs the money, but his new associate soon tries to talk him out of committing suicide.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: art house, contemplative, road movie, independent film, philosophical, spiritual, existential, slow cinema, psychological, sincere
Similar in 83%
The Color of Paradise (1999)
Plot Summary:
The story revolves around a blind boy named Mohammed who is released from his special school in Tehran for summer vacation. His father, shamed and burdened by Mohammed's blindness, arrives late to pick him up and then tries to convince the headmaster to keep Mohammed over the summer. The headmaster refuses, so Mohammed's father eventually takes him home.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Iran
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, dramatic, depressing, sentimental, realistic, inspirational, spiritual, educational, art house
Similar in 82%
Where is the Friend's Home? (1987)
Plot Summary:
An 8 year old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Iran
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: social, art house, inspirational, road movie, thought provoking, independent film, islamic, touching, feel good, serious
Similar in 76%
We Shall Overcome (2006)
Plot Summary:
A drama about a boy who's inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and challenges repressive school authority in 1969 Denmark.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Denmark
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, uplifting
Similar in 88%
Children of Heaven (1997)
Plot Summary:
Zohre's shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zohre until they come up with an idea: they will share one pair of shoes, Ali's. School awaits.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Drama, Family, Sport
Country: Iran
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, emotional, sincere, sentimental, compassionate, sad, inspirational, feel good, dramatic